§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people had their needs reviewed within three months of placement in a care home in each local authority. [182642]
§ Dr. LadymanWe have issued guidance to local councils under the "Fairer Access" to Care Services in May 2002, which stated that there should be an initial review within three months of help first being provided to the individual. The information on the percentage of people whose needs are reviewed within three months of placement in a care home is not held centrally.
§ Mr. CameronTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available for the elderly in care homes in the Thames Valley in(a) 2004, (b) 1997 and (c) 2001. [186001]
§ Dr. Ladyman[holding answer 22 July 2004]: The table shows the number of places available for adults aged 65 and over in residential and nursing care homes in the Thames Valley, at 31 March for the years 1997 and 2001.
Number of care home places for adults aged 65 and over in the Thames Valley1, 1997 and 2001, as at 31 March Residential 2,3Nursing 1997 6.300 — 2001 6,500 4,600 1 For 1997 residential care, the Thames Valley has been taken as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire local authorities. For 2001, the Thames Valley has been taken as Bracknell Forest, Milton Keynes, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham local authorities for residential care; and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire health authorities for nursing care. 2 Nursing home figures include places in general nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals and clinics. 3 Information is not available by age band at health authority level for 1997. Note: Numbers of rounded. I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.